Teamwork is what led to building the largest service learning opportunity on campus with more than 12 faculty members and over 500 students that are supporting CSUN’s efforts towards zero waste.
Dr. Mario Giraldo, the recipient of the 2018 Visionary Community Service Learning Award created a multidisciplinary service-learning opportunity that supports 12 courses and more than 450 students each semester. Faculty that have participated in this program praise Dr. Giraldo as an incredible resource who makes it possible for students to have unique hands-on learning experiences on campus. Dr. Giraldo’s own service learning classes are working to close CSUN’s sustainability loop and bringing the campus closer to the goal of zero waste by 2025. In Geography 206 and a biogeography graduate seminar, Dr. Giraldo’s students contribute to the geospatial database of campus trees. The GIS database is now an important tool in the day-to-day work of Physical Plant Management.